


genderswap andreil minifics

by elizajostenminyard



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Andrea Minyard has a lip piercing i dont make the rules, Cuddling, Drawing, F/F, Ficlets, Genderswap, High School AU, Nail Polish, Spooning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-07-08 14:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15931901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizajostenminyard/pseuds/elizajostenminyard
Summary: random ficlets for lesbian andreil because I am Soft:)





	1. nail painting

**Author's Note:**

> general audiences, vague reference to past abuse, post-canon
> 
> also andrea minyard has a lip piercing

Andrea gets a look on her face whenever she’s concentrating - eyebrows pinched together, eyes flashing, her teeth grazing against her lip piercing. It’s a sight which never fails to knock the breath from Nell’s lungs.

Andrea’s hand is carefully firm as it holds her foot still. The nail polish is a dark red and glides along Nell’s nails effortlessly, never going out of line thanks to Andrea’s concentration. Nell wonders how she ever could of thought of Andrea as a soulless, destructive monster when she takes such care of things - even little things like this.

“It feels weird,” Nell says, sighing as Andrea’s fingers brush the arch of her foot.

“You’re such a baby. It’s nail polish.”

“I’ve never worn it before.”

“What a surprise,” mutters Andrea.

“I’ve never worn open toed shoes before, either,” Nell says, furrowing her brows in thought. She’s only ever needed to wear shoes which were easy to run in. Even when she was little and watching how Lola toppled around in ridiculous heels, she preferred easier shoes. She’s never been an average little girl, dressing up like a princess and smothering lipstick around her face. 

She was a little girl who hid from her father. As she got older, Nell wore loose, unflattering clothes which hid her from the male gaze. The Butcher was never that particular flavour of sick, but he had no qualms about others having their way.

Andrea hums shortly. From anybody else, it would be a dismissal. But a hum is Andrea’s calm way of acknowledging she’s listening whilst her attention is elsewhere.

After a few minutes, Andrea lightly blows on Nell’s foot. She jerks and giggles, which earns her one of Andrea’s flat looks.

“It tickles.”

“It’s air.”

“It still tickles,” she retorts, leaning forward to look at her feet.

They don’t look very different to how they looked before. It’s a nice change, nothing drastic. Just that little splash of colour which makes her feet prettier. It reminds her of when Andrea gently outlines Nell's eyes with eyeliner, a change which isn't huge but still pleasant.

Nell smiles. “Thank you. I like it. Can I do yours?”

“No,” Andrea says. 

She chases the ‘no’ with a chaste kiss to Nell’s foot.

“Why not?”

“I’ve seen your handwriting. You think I’m letting you anywhere near me with nail polish?”

This startles a laugh from Nell. Her handwriting has changed so much over the years that it’s final form is always jagged and difficult to read. It’s freeing, being able to scrawl _Nell Josten_ over the page without worrying about the patterns her hand makes unconsciously.

“I’ll get Allison to teach me. Then you’ll be wishing you’d let me paint your nails. I’m thinking black, you know? Maybe with those little jewels on them. Like stars.”

“We’re not discussing nail designs. If you want to do that, go to Nicky.”

“ _You_ offered to paint my nails.”

Andrea scowls up at Nell. Her lip ring catches the light as her head turns. Nell thinks about how it feels against her lips and tilts her head up, a silent request for a kiss.

Andrea looks for a second like she’s about to deny out of spite, but eventually lets Nell’s foot drop from her grip and shifts closer.

It’s a gentle, relaxed kiss. Andrea’s nose brushes hers when she pulls away. Several months ago, kissing was always hot and heavy, usually leading to something else. If not, it always left them gasping for breath.

But lately, pointless affection has become a language they both speak fluently. Nell touching Andrea’s hair just because she wants to feel the smooth, straight strands under her fingers; Nell laying her head on Andrea’s chest, smoothing her fingertips over the soft skin on her stomach; intertwining their fingers when they’re sat together.

‘Pointless’ probably isn’t the right word. It’s not pointless. Every touch settles warmth in Nell’s stomach. Judging by the sharp look in Andrea’s eyes, Nell can tell that she doesn’t think of it lightly either.

It’s not pointless, but it’s harmless. They’ve both suffered a lack of harmless things in their lives.

“Some day I’ll do your nails,” Nell mumbles against Andrea’s lips. “And you’re gonna be amazed.”

Andrea says quietly, sarcastically, “Do you have a foot fetish?”

“Only for _your_ feet,” Nell says. “Let’s add it to the list.”

Andrea kisses her a little harder, effectively shutting Nell up with a bite to her lip.

 

 

Several months later, Nell does paint Andrea’s nails. It isn’t as easy as it looks.

“It seems simple,” Nell says, frowning at the blocky nail polish on Andrea’s toes. Maybe it’s the darkness of the colour that makes it so hard to look right. Maybe it’s just Nell’s bad nail painting skills.

" _You're_ simple,” Andrea replies with a flat look at her feet.

She doesn’t take the nail polish off.

 


	2. andrea can draw :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> briefly mentioned past assault, otherwise literally just pointless fluff :) the best kind of fluff :)

“You never told me you could draw,” says Nell sleepily. It’s early in the morning and she’s only just woken up, having caught her few hours of sleep with her head pillowed on Andrea’s shoulder.

There was no way that Andrea was going to be able to sleep, not with her skin crawling and memories of Drake’s awful voice playing in her ears. She had spent the night alternating between tracing the scars on Nell’s hands with very light fingertips and listening to the deep, even breathing of the girl pressed close to her. They never sleep close like this usually, but when Andrea is awake, she knows who it is touching her.

It had been an hour into Nell’s sleep when Andrea had picked up the notepad and pen. It’s intended for Nell’s notes for class but there’s barely anything on the paper. As Andrea could have guessed, there’s fox paws doodled in the margins of most pages.

Andrea had randomly sketched whatever came to her mind. Nicky’s empty cup of coffee he leaves in the kitchen in Columbia; the way Kevin curls his hands into his jeans when he’s frustrated; the knives tucked into her armbands; the delicate shape of Renee’s eyebrow whenever she arches them.

The end result is artistic. It isn’t terrible, but Nell looks at it like she’s just been gifted with art worth thousands. She traces the indents in the paper and points at the faint outline a body, odd dots of ink on the skin to indicate freckles and scars.

“Is that me?”

“No,” replies Andrea, not bothering to sound convincing. Nell’s finger follows the drawing and reaches the torso, where the breasts have been faintly outlined.

“What about that one?” Nell asks, pointing to the hesitant smile in the corner of the page. “Is that me?”

“No.”

It isn’t representative of Nell’s actual smile. Andrea’s art skills won’t ever be able to capture that well enough. It’s part fire, part glee, all beauty.

“What other hidden talents do you have?” Nell says, curiosity smothered by fatigue. She nestles closer into Andrea like a cat, curling up so close that Andrea can feel the steady, healthy beat of her heart. “Can you sing?”

“I’m not fucking singing.”

This startles a laugh from Nell’s throat, gentle and soft. Andrea wonders how someone who has hardened herself to the outside world can be so relaxed right now. She’s loose-limbed and tired, her hair sticking up from where she’s slept on it.

It goes silent for another couple of minutes until Andrea realises Nell has managed to fall back asleep, one of her hands loosely curled around Andrea’s wrist.

 


	3. andrea can't sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrea can't sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no warnings apart from very brief reflection on past abuse

Each blink becomes longer. Each word becomes quieter. Nell is several minutes from passing out, but her mind is ringing with the sharp reminder that  _ Andrea is awake. Andrea can’t sleep _ . Andrea’s mind is plagued with unfriendly thoughts from her past and sleep is impossible.

Nell is familiar with the feeling.

The difference between Andrea’s bad days and Nell’s bad days is that Andrea can offer the distraction her her firm touch, her hot kisses. But touch would only make Andrea worse. Nell always feel out of her depth. It’s awful, not being in sync with Andrea, like her heart is beating irregularly.

Nell lets her heavy eyes rest for a second too long. She feels her mind begin to drift away, until she hears Andrea’s agitated sigh as she clicks her lighter. She doesn’t light a cigarette, but watches the flame blankly like it might offer some answers.

Minutes pass where they bathe in silence. Nell lies on her side and watches Andrea with hooded eyes, the way her hands are minutely trembling and her knee jogging impatiently.

“Can I do anything?”

“Go to sleep,” Andrea bites. Nell tries not to take the snappy tone to heart.

“I’m not tired,” she blatantly lies, an ill-timed yawn sneaking up on her. She shields it with her hand.

Andrea sneers and says nothing. She flicks her lighter again, the click harsh against the air.

Nell was used to Andrea shutting down, going cold and not saying a word. Sitting still and not taking her eyes of a certain point in the distance.

This restlessness is … unsettling. New. It’s obvious that whatever has snuck up on Andrea’s sleeping, vulnerable mind hasn’t left the nicest aftertaste. Maybe it’s new, although Nell would have thought Andrea’s mind must have run out of traumatic experiences to play back at her.

“Maybe you should talk to -”

“Bee?” Andrea interjects dully. “Is that your plan?”

Nell scowls. “She helps.”

“Nothing helps. I don’t care.”

“Don’t be awkward,” Nell says, scowling further. Her fatigue is slowly being worn away by annoyance and concern. “You know Dobson helps.”

“I have sessions with her on Wednesdays,” Andrea replies evenly, coldly. “I’m not going to start ringing her up every time I can’t sleep.”

They both know ‘can’t sleep’ is a bit of an understatement.

Softly, Nell says, “Andrea. You need to sleep. You’ve got classes tomorrow and -”

“I can handle a night of no sleep. You can’t, so shut the fuck up and go to bed.”

Nell waits several heartbeats before sitting up. Her hair is sticking up oddly and her mouth tastes stale from the several hours of sleep she got before Andrea had bolted awake.

“I’m not tired,” she repeats.

“No, you’re a liar.” The fire in Andrea’s voice is simultaneously concerning and relieving. At least she isn’t shutting down - but losing control has always struck a wrong note within her. Emotions are carefully guarded when it comes to Andrea. “Go to sleep, Nell.”

“I will if you do.”

“That isn’t going to work.”

“Then tell me why." When Andrea shoots her a look which plainly reads 'are you fucking stupid', Nell adds,  “You had a nightmare.”

With a scowl which looks far too close to pained, Andrea snaps, “I don’t like that word.”   


“Nightmare?” asks Nell, raising her eyebrows. “Why not?”

“I’m not six. I didn’t have a  _ bad dream _ ,” mimics Andrea, her voice deadly sharp, a knife which is aimed to wound.

Nell has spent her whole life dodging knives aimed to wound.

“Come to bed,” Nell says again, her voice feather-light. She shuffles over, giving Andrea plenty of room to lie comfortably without being touched.

It takes a few seconds. 

Eventually, looking annoyed at being persuaded, Andrea hitches herself off the floor. She’s wearing a huge t-shirt which looks like it belongs to Kevin rather than her, and her sweatpants nearly swallow her up. Absently, Nell thinks that Andrea looks adorable with her hair falling out of the topknot in little wisps, but there’s a scowl on her face which sends a pang of hurt through Nell’s chest.

“Move closer,” Andrea orders. Nell obliges, shifting into the middle of the bed even though she’s unsure as to why Andrea would want this.

Andrea slides under the covers. Her body is solid and warm. The hard muscle of her arm slips around Nell’s waist, and Nell is relieved to feel she isn’t trembling.

“Yes or no?”

She’s never liked being held. Sometimes her mother would press close when it was cold or they were hiding, but arms around her have always been in a negative sense. However, Nell finds her answer being a vehement, “ _ Yes _ .”

It takes a few minutes of rearranging position and limbs out of place until they’re pressed together, but once they are, it’s an intoxicating feeling. Andrea’s chest slowly expanding against Nell’s back, her heartbeat even against her shoulder. This is purely innocent and Nell knows that, but she mentally catalogues that it’s a nice feeling to have her ass pressed snug against Andrea’s crotch. It’s intimate without being sexual.

Sleep is a heavy weight on Nell’s shoulders, but her mind is buzzing with the reminder that sleeping whilst touching won’t go well for either of them. She mumbles, “Are you going to sleep?”

Andrea takes a second to reply. “No.”

It makes Nell feel warm that Andrea trusts her enough to relax like this. One day, maybe, they will progress to falling asleep entangled like they are now - but this moment in time is perfect enough. Nell wants to keep this feeling clutched close to her chest, wake up with the memory of a muscular arm wrapped around her.

“You need to sleep.”

“Can’t,” Andrea bites. “This is fine.”

“Thought fine was my word,” Nell teases tiredly. She brushes her fingers over Andrea’s wrist in a wordless thank you.

Trauma stains them both. There won’t ever be a day they can live without some form of terror nagging in the back of their minds. In a world who has hurt them, they can find small comforts in each other.

"Night," she mumbles. Nell is too far gone to hear Andrea's quiet reply.

 


	4. high school au

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> High school au. English partners au.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is part 1 so ill post another part when ive finished it :))

“Who’s your partner?” Allison demands, sliding up beside Nell with Dan and Matt close behind her. She doesn’t look to pleased as her book hits the table with a ‘thunk’. Even though she asked Nell a question, Allison doesn’t wait for the answer, charging on with, “I’m with Walker. You know the one? She’s the new girl. Always wears a cross necklace.”

“She’s got cool hair. I’m surprised she’s allowed to keep it that colour for school, though,” Dan offers.

“She looks like she always gets her way, doesn’t she?” Allison agrees. “I don’t like her. Hopefully she’s clever. I’m not getting a shitty grade for a project just because she’s too busy praying to do anything.”

“You barely know her,” Matt tries, but Allison isn’t listening. She flicks through the book they’ve been assigned with thinly veiled disgust.

“It’s so thick. I hate Wymack for this.” She turns to Nell. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Who are you with?”

“Oh. I’m with Andrea.”

“Andrea?” Dan says, furrowing her eyebrows. Then it seems to click. A dark cloud passes over her expression. “ _ Oh _ . Andrea.”

The only thing Nell knows about Andrea is that she has a twin brother, Aaron. She never says anything unless she’s picked on, and even then she always knows the answer. Nell had counted her lucky stars that she had someone clever working with her, but she’s beginning to doubt her luck judging by the three identical horrified expressions being sent her way.

“What?”

“Andrea Minyard?” Allison asks, like there’s going to be an alternative answer. When nobody intervenes, she covers her mouth and says, “Oh my god.”

“Are they even allowed to assign her with anyone?” Dan says. “Isn’t that -  _ dangerous? _ ”

“What’s dangerous about her?” Nell says. “She’s barely five feet tall.”

Matt, in his six foot glory, shoots Nell a pitiful look. “You’re only five-three.”

“That’s not the point.”

“She may be tiny, but there’s a whole lot of crazy packed into her,” Dan says, leaning across the table like she’s afraid someone will overhear her. “I’ve heard a lot of things, Nell. Be careful. Apparently she carries knives in her sleeves. That’s why she always wears those things.”

Now Nell thinks about it, Andrea always seems to be decorating her forearms with black armbands. She always thought they were a fashion statement.

At the mention of knives, Nell feels her skin crawl. Her father is locked away now, in a high security prison where he won’t ever escape from, but the memory of his disgusting enjoyment for knives is still etched into her mind. And her skin.

“Poor Nell,” Allison says, ruffling Nell’s hair affectionately. She smooths it straight again the second Allison’s hand returns to the book. “If you need us to step in and fight your corner, we will.”

“Minyard has weapons, Ally.”

“I’ve got weapons.” She waves her sharp nails in the air. Nell hides a laugh behind her hand and tries to imagine Allison fighting Andrea Minyard on her behalf, although the image is ridiculous. Of course Allison would win. She’s got nearly a foot on Minyard  _ sans _ high heels.

“I’ll be fine,” Nell reassures them all. “I can handle myself.”

Dan and Matt grin at her like proud parents. Allison slings an arm around Nell’s shoulder.

“That’s our girl.”

They forget all about English partners in favour of discussing the recent price rise in chips from the vending machine, but Andrea Minyard sits at the back of Nell’s mind, a curious thought which won’t go away. She wonders how come they’ve never spoken before. She wonders whether the rumours are true. Is Andrea a knife-wielding maniac?

Even when she goes home, she flops on her bed and looks at the English book like the tiny text will give her some answers.

 

The next English lesson, Nell arrives early and snags her usual seat at the back of the room. The seat next to her usually goes to Allison, but Allison will be sitting with Renee Walker, her new assigned partner, and Renee always sits at the front. Nell can imagine Allison’s annoyance when she realises that.

Andrea arrives the second the clock ticks to half one. Not a second early or late. Exactly on time.

Nell hasn’t ever looked properly at Andrea because there’s never been a need to. Andrea’s appearance isn’t anything outwardly striking - blonde hair cut to her shoulders, always pulled back into a ponytail; chapped lips; a long, thin nose; a sharp jawline. Obviously, after what Dan said about the knives in her armbands, Nell’s eyes jump to them, half expecting to see the silver glint of a blade in the light.

Andrea’s eyes find the seat next to Nell. She walks over and falls into the seat. She looks careless, like she doesn’t care whether the chair is there or not. It’s an attitude which Nell wishes she could adopt. Not caring about anything at all seems so liberating. She’s constantly plagued by anxiety, whether it’s about her father escaping or her mother coming back to life or some of her father’s loyal followers finding her.

“It’s Andrea, right?” she tries, although she’s been thinking about that name all of last night. 

Andrea’s eyes slide over to her. They are hazel and oddly bright for somebody of so little emotion. “Yes.”

“I’m Nell,” she introduces. Andrea doesn’t seem like someone to remember names. She seems like the type of person to never find out your name because she doesn’t care.

But surprisingly, she just says, “I know.”

“Oh,” Nell says blankly. She isn’t sure whether it’s a good or a bad thing that Andrea remembers her name. “Well, uh, considering we’re working together now - maybe you could give me your number? Then I can text you about the book. And stuff.” 

Nell digs her phone out of her pocket. Stuart bought her the latest phone because he wanted her to have a ‘normal’ time at a new high school, but Nell isn’t sure how to use it properly. It had a thumbprint ID which Nell refuses to use because the idea of some business having her prints is terrifying. She knows logically that this phone company has no connection to her father, but she’s still petrified that somehow it will get traced back. She’s only been ‘Nell Josten’ for a year. Nobody at this school knows that her birth name is tied to the most one of the most ruthless crime families. If they did, she’d have to get another transfer. She quite likes the connections she’s made here.

After an agonising few minutes, Nell finds ‘create new contact’. Andrea is watching with her thin eyebrows raised.

“Have you ever used a phone before?”

“Yes,” Nell snaps. “I just don’t use it often.”

Andrea gently takes the phone from Nell’s hands. Within ten seconds, there’s a new contact saved as ‘Minyard’. 

Wymack takes this moment to start the class, so Nell just tries not to look at Andrea, who she knows is looking at her.

 

_ Hey _ , Nell types.  _ It’s Nell. Have you started the book yet? _

She deletes her typing until the ‘hey’ is all that remains. Then she tries again.

_ Hey. It’s Nell from English. _

No. Allison would tell her upfront about how boring that is.

_ Hey, it’s Nell. This is Andrea, right? _

That’s a stupid question.

Nell deletes all the typing and decides not to text Andrea at all, although her thumbs hover tantalizingly over the keyboard. 

 

The next morning, Andrea is waiting for Nell in their designated seat in the back of the class. It was never discussed that they would sit together but Nell quite likes the calm which comes with Andrea’s presence. She never says much, so Nell cherishes every word she does say.

“Have you read the book?”

Andrea flicks her fingers at the copy on the desk. “Years ago.”

“Years ago?” Nell blinks. When she’s tried to read it, the words had jumbled together and made one incoherent string of adjectives.

“I was thirteen.”

“You couldn’t have read  _ that  _ when you were thirteen.”

Andrea shoots her an unimpressed look which disproves Nell’s argument entirely.

“Okay, so you’ve read it, but maybe you’ve forgotten most of it.” Nobody could recall a book perfectly that they read four years ago, surely. “Maybe if you re-read it, we can -”

“‘ _ In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since _ ,’” Andrea says. It takes Nell far too long to realise she’s quoting. She scrambles for the book and opens the first page. Sure enough, Andrea is reading the first page of the book, but her eyes are on Nell. She continues, “‘ _ Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had _ .’”

Nell blinks.

Andrea isn’t done. She leans forward, a viscous glint in her eyes. “‘ _ He didn’t say any more, but we’ve always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a great deal more than that. In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores _ .’”

Nell blinks again, lost for words. Every word that Andrea had said is in print, right in front of her. “How - how did you know that? Word for word?”

Andrea doesn’t break eye contact as she sits back in her chair, levelling Nell a flat look. “I don’t need to reread.”

“Yeah,” Nell says, swallowing. “Okay.”

She always knew Andrea was smart, but Nell thinks maybe she underestimated just  _ how _ smart.

  
  


It becomes almost a routine. Andrea will wait for Nell after she finishes Math and they will go over their notes for each chapter whilst Andrea devours a plate of the cafeteria fries. They don’t talk much aside from odd comments about the book, and after they’re done, Andrea will leave without saying goodbye at all.

But she still waits every Tuesday and Thursday for Nell. Nell is slowly realising that Andrea doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to. If she had no interest in the assignment, she wouldn’t show up.

One day, Nell falls ill. She hates being sick, but she’s when she’s got her head in the toilet and she feels seconds away from death, there’s no option but to call in sick.

She texts her friends that she’s not going to be in, then clicks on the contact which says ‘Minyard’. There’s been no texts exchanged so far.

_ I’m not going to be in today. I’m sick. Can you send your notes for English _ ?

Andrea’s reply is short and simple:  _ Yes _ .

_ Thanks _ , Nell puts, and then has to run back to the bathroom before she throws up all over her phone.

 

When she comes into school several days later, Andrea is waiting for her at the usual perch, already having ordered her fries and milkshake. Nell sits down and sniffs, still feeling rough but unwilling to miss another day.

“You were off for two days.”

“I know.”

“You missed a lot.”

“I know,” Nell says, annoyed. Where is Andrea going with this? “You didn’t send me your notes.”

“There are a lot. It’s easier if I explain them to you.”

“Then show them to me.”

“I don’t have them. They’re at home.”

Nell scowls. “Great. Thanks a lot.”

“I guess we’ll have to meet up outside of school,” Andrea says flatly, although she’s looking at Nell with a faint flicker of something in her eyes.

“Are you trying to invite me around your house?” Nell snaps. “You could just ask.”

“Not my house,” she says sharply, and it’s obvious her mind isn’t changing on that. “Yours.”

“You wanna come round?”

“I have to, considering you were ill for two days,” Andrea says, like that is Nell’s fault.

“Fine. Whatever. Come round. I’ll text you the address.” 

Andrea pushes her plate across the table. Nell looks at the fries like they’ve personally offended her, but before she can tell Andrea she doesn’t want them, she’s already walking off with her milkshake in hand.

If Andrea has an eidetic memory, then surely the notes wouldn’t be too difficult for her to explain. Nell gets the feeling it’s an excuse to come round.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANDREA AND NELL R GAY PASS IT ON


	5. underwear appreicaiton (thanks @allison)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nell gets some new underwear and Andrea appreciates it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just pointless because my brain is so exhausted:)) mildly nsfw? idk whatever lol

“What is that?”

Nell freezes mid-way through pulling off her shirt. She looks at where Andrea is waiting on the bed, a book in one hand but her attention fully on Nell’s torso. She looks down and notices the new, black bra which Allison had picked out when they went on a Saturday shopping trip last week - in which Allison had shopped for Nell whilst she was being dragged along. She remembers Allison handing her a black, sleek bra and saying, “Here. It’s an improvement from your current underwear.”

In Nell’s opinion, the underwear had been severely expensive. And not worth it.

That’s when she notices how heated Andrea’s gaze is. Maybe it wasn’t such an awful idea to pay a little extra.

Slowly, Nell peels off the rest of her shirt. She’s never liked the way her skin looks, but there’s an odd thrill she gets from being exposed to Andrea like this. With a hot spark of wanting, she turns to face Andrea fully, who had abandoned all pretence of reading now.

“Allison got me new underwear.”

“You didn’t say.”

“I wasn’t aware I had to update you on every new item of clothing I buy,” Nell quips. She relishes in how Andrea’s eyes darken, feeling arousal pool in her stomach and wondering whether tonight is a night where they go further.

Andrea’s style has never been particularly  _ sexy _ \- she covers up in dark clothing, jeans and shirts which don’t present her as overly feminine. Nell can’t help but watch how her shoulders pull her shirt tight and her thighs tense in her jeans. She recalls how it felt to have those thighs over her shoulders, the solid, heavy weight and tight grip in her shoulders ...

She looks at Andrea and tries to figure out what type of night it is. Her pondering is cut short by hands tugging her closer to the bed.

“Yes or no?”

“Yes,” Nell breathes, leaning down for a kiss. She’s still wearing her shorts but Andrea’s fingers are resilient as they dip past the waistband, tugging Nell down until she’s snug against her lap. Andrea is still clad in her jeans and there’s a frustrating amount of clothing covering the pale expanse of skin which Nell loves to trace with her hands, and mouth, if she’s allowed.

There’s a bit of awkward shifting as Andrea attempts to pull off her shirt without dismantling Nell, but she manages it eventually. The sight (which she’s seen countless times) knocks the breath from her. Andrea has odd freckles around her chest and shoulders. There are freckles on her face as well, but those are slight, only dotted on the bridge of her nose and cheeks.

It’s been a while since they’ve had the house to themselves in Columbia, and Nell plans to make the most of it.

(She makes a mental note to thank Allison as Andrea unhooks her bra.)


	6. high school english partners part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 2 of the English partners au thingy. super rushed and shitty, apologies :)
> 
> will have a part 3, im just slow @ writing

Andrea doesn’t care about things. She doesn’t care about anything or want anything or need anything.

She doesn’t  _ care _ about the way Nell Josten stares at Andrea like she’s done something marvellous. She doesn’t  _ want _ to reach over and trace the faded, mysterious scars on Nell’s hands. She doesn’t  _ need _ to go around Nell’s house. But she’s curious. She wants to try and figure Nell out, why she looks constantly paranoid like she’s got several dark secrets to hide.

After school on Wednesday, they go back to Nell’s house. On the bus, they sit next to each other but don’t speak. Andrea fights the urge to brush back the stray piece of auburn hair sticking out of Nell’s ponytail.

It turns out Nell’s house is just normal. No drug lairs or gang territory, not like Andrea was expecting. She wonders why Nell is so jumpy around the subject of her family every time it’s brought up, looking at the family pictures on the wall of her and two people who Andrea assumes are her parents.

“Is that your dad?”

Nell jumps and nearly drops her books. “What?”

Andrea points at the picture on the wall. It’s of a young Nell and a man with dark hair. He is smiling for the picture but it looks forced, like carving a wonky smile into granite.

“Oh,” Nell breathes. “No.” She laughs weakly, although Andrea doesn’t get what is funny. “That’s my Uncle Stuart. He doesn’t get home until later.”

“What about her?” Andrea asks, pointing to another picture. This woman has the same shaped nose as Nell and the same thin-lipped smile.

“That’s my mother.”

“You don’t look alike,” Andrea comments. The woman in the picture has dark, thin hair and plain eyes. She fades into the background. Nell sticks out with red hair and icy eyes, so striking it’s difficult to look away.

“No,” Nell agrees, and shows Andrea to her room without saying anything further.

Her room is even more normal than the rest of the house. She’s got a few books thrown on a shelf which look totally untouched. There’s a few shirts on the floor which Andrea remembers Nell wearing. All her clothes seem to be the same boring shade of black or brown. Like she’s afraid to stick out. Although that fails when she has a face like she does.

“So here,” Nell says, throwing her arms out and gesturing to her bed and window. “Here’s my bed. It’s comfortable. And there’s my window. It doesn’t open.”

“Why?”

“Maybe Stuart was afraid I’d jump out,” Nell comments dryly. Then she weakly adds, “Kidding,” although Andrea knows what a lie sounds like on her tongue.

Andrea watches as Nell pulls her hair out of it’s ponytail. Her hair is even prettier when it tumbles past her shoulders.

“Did you bring the notes?”

She pulls out her book from her bag and throws it at Nell. She catches it, just.

“Thanks,” she says bitterly, scowling at Andrea.

As she gets to work copying the English notes, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, Andrea settles on the edge of Nell’s bed and wrestles with her feelings. 

Nell Josten is interesting, the way she jumps at the mention of her family, the way she hides her smile behind her hand, the way she looks at Andrea. The way she drags her teeth along her bottom lip. The way she crosses her ankles. The way she writes, her handwriting swirling and looping.

This infatuation isn’t a feeling Andrea is comfortable with.

  
  


Nell knows she’s being watched. She can feel it.

When she turns back, sure enough, Andrea is looking at her. The light coming in through the window catch her eyes in an almost golden light. She hands Andrea back the book and awkwardly clears her throat.

“So. You’ve seen my house. I copied the notes. Are you satisfied?”

“I don’t care,” Andrea says, shrugging, although she’s looking at Nell with sharp eyes which contradict her words.

“We’ve got an hour before Stuart gets home. We could watch a movie or something, or …”

“Whatever,” Andrea says.

But Nell knows that if Andrea didn’t want to be here, she wouldn’t stick around.

Nell feels a smile creep up on her for some unknown reason. She covers her mouth with her hand and says, “Uh, okay. You can choose.”

 

Andrea leaves Nell’s house before Stuart gets home. She picks up her stuff and marches out, leaving Nell with a very slight nod. She watches from the doorstep until Andrea is out of sight, just a spec in the distance.

 

She dreams about Andrea that night. It’s an accident. She dreams that Andrea keeps brushing her hair behind her ears, even in class. Then she hears Allison’s voice in her ears -  _ why does Minyard keep touching you _ ?  _ Are you guys friends now _ ? - and Nell has to reassure that they’re just English partners. Nothing more.

 

“Minyard is screwing Day,” says Dan confidently.

Nell looks up from her food. Her mouthful suddenly tastes like paper. “What?”

“Yeah. I  _ know _ . I was so convinced she was like, unlovable, and then I saw them coming out of the bathroom together earlier, and he was all sweaty -”

“Wait, wait,” Allison interjects. “Kevin Day? As in, grade above, jock superstar, Kevin Day?”

Nell thinks about Kevin, tall and dark and handsome, and how he and Andrea always seem to be in each other’s company. Nell can’t believe she didn’t realise before. The realisation is hot and painful as it sinks through her chest.

“Well, they are always together,” Matt says. “Who is she even friends with besides him?”

“Renee,” Allison says glumly. “They’re like, fighting buddies or something. Renee came in with a black eye the other day.”

“It’s ‘Renee’ now?” teases Dan. “Last week she was ‘Walker’.”

“Yeah, well,” Allison says, stabbing at her food with a little more fervour than before, “turns out she’s not awful. But  _ Minyard, _ ” she adds venomously. “She’s the devil in disguise.”

“I can’t believe she’s screwing Kevin Day,” Matt says, shaking his head.

“I can’t believe  _ anyone _ is screwing Andrea Minyard,” Allison says. “I’m surprised she allows anyone to touch her. Isn’t she, like, weird about personal space?”

Nell thinks back to Wednesday night, when her and Andrea had sat barely a centimetre apart as they watched a movie. Their elbows were so nearly touching and Andrea didn't seem to mind at all.

“Let’s just pray for him,” Dan says. She turns to Allison and says, “ _So_. Tell me about Renee.”

Allison goes a little red and shrugs. “She’s nice. I misjudged, is all.”

Whilst the others gossip about Renee Walker and her rainbow hair, Nell thinks about Andrea and Kevin.

It hurts. She isn’t sure why it hurts. It’s not her business and she has absolutely no feelings towards Kevin.

She suddenly isn’t hungry anymore.

 

The next English lesson, Nell stares at Andrea’s hands as she is writing and tries to ignore the surge of sadness she gets when she thinks about what Dan said about Kevin.

Eventually, Andrea looks back and says, “You’re not writing.”

“Oh.” Nell looks at her empty page. “Yeah. Sorry. Got distracted.”

_ Maybe you’ll have to come over again _ , she thinks, but she says nothing.

“You’re angry about something.” It isn’t phrased like a question, but the fact that Andrea is asking at all shows her curiosity.

“No, I’m not,” she says. “I’m just … I don’t know.”

Andrea arches her eyebrow.

“Can I ask you something?” Nell asks after a moment of quiet. Andrea says nothing but keeps staring at Nell expectantly, so she takes it as a yes. “Are you and Kevin Day … you know.”

“‘You know’,” Andrea repeats, sounding faintly amused.

Nell feels her cheeks flush and looks at her pen to avoid looking at Andrea. “ _You know_.”

“Fucking?” Andrea asks nonchalantly, leaning back in her chair.

“Uh. Yeah.” She wouldn’t have phrased it exactly like that.

Andrea takes a second to reply, almost like she’s enjoying letting the silence drag on. “No. We are not.”

Nell breathes out a sigh and feels the tight ball of tension in her stomach unravel. “Oh.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, just - I heard something. Apparently you were coming out a bathroom together and he was sweaty.”

“If you’re referring to Monday, that’s because he had a panic attack.” She says it so plainly that Nell is taken aback. Kevin Day and panic attacks are things which seem like they come from totally different universes. “I was helping him.”

“Oh.” Nell isn’t sure why she’s quite this relieved. “So you’ve never …?”

“Me and Kevin have never and will never,” Andrea says.

“You can’t tell the future,” Nell says. “You never know.”

Andrea looks the most amused that Nell has ever seen her look. “Yes. Aside from the unfortunate fact that he’s a man.”

The words sink in slowly.

“Oh. You’re gay?”

“Are you going to stop being my English partner now?” mocks Andrea.

“No, of course not,” mumbles Nell, feeling her cheeks heat up for no particular reason. Then, out of burning curiosity: “Have you, uh - got a girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Why not? What about -” She looks over to where Renee and Allison are sat, probably closer than necessary. The rainbow hair resting at Renee’s shoulders suddenly has a new meaning.

Andrea follows her gaze. 

“Is she not your …”

“Just because we’re both gay and don’t mind each other’s company,” says Andrea flatly, “doesn’t mean I’m going to be her girlfriend.”

Nell blinks and nods. “Oh. Yeah. Fair enough.”

“Besides, I think her affections lay elsewhere,” Andrea says, her eyes landing on where Renee and Allison’s arms are touching.

Oh.

_ Oh _ .

Nell clears her throat and stares at her notes on the final chapter, her mind muddled. She’d been entirely in the dark about Allison and Renee’s sudden relationship development.

“I didn’t know.”

“The rainbow hair wasn’t a hint enough for you?”

“I just don’t notice that sort of thing.”

Nell swears that she hears Andrea huff out a humoured laugh, but when she looks back, it’s gone.

For a brief moment, Nell lets her dream replay in her head. Andrea’s light fingers tracing her cheeks, touching her hair …

Then she flushes red and hastily picks up the book.

 

**Author's Note:**

> thankyou so much for reading, i'll update this randomly if I get inspiration or any requests
> 
> comments and kudos are my life so please lmk what you think!


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